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Jezebeth
Jezebeth, also known as Midori Mizushima and Xezbeth, is the half-demon daughter of Haruko Mizushima and Malakhia d'Zarnagon. She was once known as the Crown Princess of Barjassil before she was taken to the Demon Realm where she was raised by demons. She became a servant of the Eastern Horde and acted as their spy in Illunii in the Third Age in order to manipulate various people to open a portal to the Demon Realm. Her plot was foiled by the Dresdens but she survived the encounter, and she ended up escorting Sloth to Malperdy to locate what their demonic masters desired. During that time Jezebeth was reunited with her long-lost mother Haruko, which brought back memories she had nearly forgotten. Biography Early Years Princess of Barjassil The forbidden relationship between the demon Malakhia d'Zarnagon and the kitsune Haruko Mizushima led to Haruko becoming pregnant with their half-demon/half-kitsune child who was eventually born. Haruko was married to King Anshar of Barjassil at that time, and in order to keep the potentially scandalous relationship with Malakhia a secret, she claimed the baby was Anshar's. Although Haruko would've preferred giving the baby the name Midori Mizushima to signify the baby's heritage as a kitsune, or a child of the forest, Anshar and the Court of Judges chose to give the young princess the name Xezbeth instead. Haruko had to flee from the court sometime after when Malakhia betrayed her and revealed her intentions to steal the Dragon Diamond from the king. She swore to return to reclaim Midori eventually no matter how long it took. In the meantime Midori, or Xezbeth as the people of Barjassil called her, was tutored by Malakhia himself who held the title of Oracle in the court. Xezbeth grew spoiled and regarded peasants as inferior beings compared to royals. Haruko returned eventually and kidnapped Xezbeth who tried to flee from her several times. They were reunited with Haruko's thief companions, the Band of the Fox, and had to flee from the Barjassil Royal Guard led by Captain Gilgamesh. Haruko spent considerable time explaining that she was Xezbeth's mother while calling her Midori much to the girl's annoyance. The time between mother and daughter eventually seemed to show promise as Haruko managed to break the ice between them and help Midori accept her heritage despite protests from some of her thief companions. However, the bonding came to an abrupt end some time later when Gilgamesh's squad was gaining in on the fugitives. After a fierce battle, Midori was left behind as the Band's leader Katsutoshi Kobayashi ultimately decreed that the survival of the group was more important than sacrificing all their lives for the princess's sake. Midori, once more called Xezbeth now that Gilgamesh had caught her, was placed in Malakhia's care, unaware that the Oracle who had taught her had been her father all along. Malakhia took Xezbeth to the Demon Realm, entrusting her to the demons' care to mold her into his liking so that she would serve her purpose when the time was right. Some time later Xezbeth received a vision, one of her manifesting demonic powers, which showed her Haruko seemingly perishing in a flash of light. With her mother gone, her despair was easy prey for demons who used it to guide her in the direction of their choosing. Millennia passed, and Midori grew up, gradually forgetting Haruko and her kitsune heritage as well as the time she'd spent in Barjassil while she embraced demon ideals. The memories of childhood were buried under new memories as she learned to control her demonic power and came to falsely see herself as a pureblood demon. She adopted a new name for herself, which was partly a perversion of both her soft kitsune name and her harsher Barjassil court name. She was no longer either Midori Mizushima or Princess Xezbeth. She would call herself Jezebeth, mimicking a human name. Agent of the East Jezebeth served the Eastern Horde as demons poured into the Land of the Living after the Cataclysm. She was sent to the elven city of Illunii in Libaterra to act as the horde's eyes and ears among the elves there with hopes of using their isolation to advance the horde's plans. She was leading the infiltration mission but kept in touch with her liege, Nina Heeate L'andariel, who gave her further instructions via a magic orb. Jezebeth entered Illunii covertly and began posing as a member of the lower elven social class in the city. She quickly intergrated herself into the local society and began seeking employment among the city's nobles, lying to other elves about her motivations which she claimed were to escape the poverty in the lower areas. Her skills impressed the elven lord Thanatos Barca who took her under his wing as a servant, in which capacity Jezebeth acted for several years while everyone in the city was unaware of her true nature and purpose as a demon spy. She slowly got to know people in the Barca household and befriended Thanatos's daughter Persephone Barca. The two grew close over the years, and Jezebeth manipulated Persephone's emotions, making her fall in love with her while filling her head with delusions of grandeur about the necromantic profession. When the lone necromancer Deidra Finian showed up in the city and began an affair with Thanatos, Jezebeth managed to easily make Persephone believe that Thanatos had betrayed the Barca family and that Deidra was an evil witch whose purpose was to ruin everything she touched. She goaded Persephone, whose insanity she was fueling with her own dark magics, to murder her mother and resurrect her as an undead much to the horror of Thanatos and Deidra who thought Persephone was acting of her own accord. This was all part of Jezebeth's plan, however, to goad Thanatos and Deidra into action and use their skills for the horde's ultimate goal. Everything unraveled as Jezebeth had expected: Thanatos wished to cure Persephone from her illness and sent Deidra to seek out valuable necromantic tomes, the Twins, which might hold information of a dangerous cure to the disease. Jezebeth wanted to make sure Deidra would be in a hurry, though, and deliberately sent hired demon bounty hunters after her to keep her on the run and on her toes, which would make her find the tomes faster and bring them back to Illunii. Jezebeth needed Deidra alive for a ritual she had in mind, though, but when Deidra managed to eluded and defeated the pursuers, she set Persephone free and sent her to Etheril to locate some of the tomes and hopefully lure Deidra back into the open, which would allow Persephone to capture or manipulate her. It was around this time she sent one of her minions, Naga, to spy on the activities of various people in Etheril in case something interesting would happen that she could use. Godslayer Era Fool's Errand Jezebeth noticed a motley crew of outsiders, the Dresdens, whom the elven guards escorted into the city, and took an interest in them. She was already formulating a plan to use them to learn more about Deidra and Persephone. Word of the captured outlanders quickly caught Thanatos who made arrangements to meet some of them personally and use them to locate his missing daughter Persephone. Meanwhile Jezebeth sought out one of the captured trespassers, Razravkar Dominus, to ask him for a favour ostensibly under orders from her "master" Thanatos. She asked Razravkar to follow the rest of the Dresdens but have a different objective: locate and capture the stray necromancer Deidra Finian. She knew of Razravkar's actions beforehand thanks to her spies and knew the necromancer would be interested in his colleague's doings. Razravkar agreed to carry out the orders although he believed Thanatos had sent Jezebeth. However, Jezebeth was acting of her own accord, using Razravkar for her own ends while keeping their deal a secret from Thanatos. After the Dresdens had left for Etheril, Jezebeth instructed Naga to keep an eye on Deidra and Persephone's activities and wait for a proper moment to carry out her orders. Naga did as her mistress instructed, and once Deidra had been captured, she put a mental switch on Deidra's mind, which the horde could use at a proper moment. More info later. A Cry in the Dark Jezebeth returned to Libaterra after her humiliating defeat, swearing to prove her usefulness to Duchesses Nina and Vaetris and hopefully gain their favour in becoming one of their Dreadladies if she was successful enough in her mission. She hired members of the Sinister Six to ostensibly work for the Dwarven Triad but also instructed them to only play along until the time was right for her to make herself known. The plan was put in motion once Bob, Floyd, Snake from the Sinister Six freed Persephone with help from the Triad's inside agent Geras Sylevar and fled from Illunii before the guards would notice that both the mercenaries and Persephone were missing. Sylevar thought he was in charge until he realized on the outskirts of the forest that Jezebeth hadn't perished in the Illunii incident and had in fact been the true mastermind behind the Six all along. As the mercenaries subdued Sylevar, Jezebeth reunited with her dear Persephone for the first time since their defeat in Illunii. She had missed Persephone more than she had expected and was glad to be with her once more. They bound Sylevar because they still needed him alive for their plans and then set out with their mercenary companions to their next destination: Trinity Gask, the capital of the Crimson Coalition. Deceiver's Gambit By using Persephone's necromantic powers to travel through the Land of the Dead, Jezebeth's group made it safely and, more importantly, quickly to Trinity Gask where they met with their Eastern Horde contacts Sloth and Rahovart. Jezebeth was shaken by the experience as it had been her first time travelling through the Land of the Dead, but Persephone's words comforted her, and she quickly regained her senses. While Persephone, Sylevar and the mercenaries recovered from the journey, Jezebeth had a brief chat with Duchess Nina via the demonic communication orb and received instructions from her. Afterwards, the demonic trio headed outside in disguise to meet with the Weird Sisters and ask for their advice because it had turned out that their target was more difficult to locate than they had assumed and that the witches might know more about where it had been hidden. The meeting with the weird witches turned out to be promising even if the witches used cryptic words. Jezebeth considered killing them for their insolence, but Sloth made her let them live because she deemed them to be more useful alive. While Rahovart went to scout the city, Jezebeth followed Sloth back to their hideout in order to use the witches' advice to use Persephone's necromantic powers to talk with the dead and learn more about their target's location which they now knew had to be somewhere below Trinity Gask. More info later. Heart of Darkness After the adventure in Malperdy had concluded and the survivors had been escorted back to the surface, they were all held captive by the Crimson Coalition until further notice. Jezebeth was captured alongside several others, and a magical enslavement collar was put around her neck to keep her pacified and under the Coalition's control. She got to meet with Haruko in the following morning, and the two had a rather tense conversation. Haruko wished to reconnect with her long-lost daughter, but Jezebeth still viewed her with a hint of bitterness and sacrasm as she pointed out how Haruko had once abandoned her to her fate, which had led her to demons. She now saw the Eastern Horde as her family and Duchess Vaetris L'andariel as her mother. However, Haruko said she wasn't going to give up on Jezebeth so easily much to Jezebeth's surprise, which left the half-demon with much to ponder for the days to follow while she'd have to come to grips with the fact that Haruko was now once again part of her life whether she wanted or not. Aliases and Nicknames ; Jez : Her nickname. ; Lady of Lies : Her title in the Eastern Horde. ; Midori Mizushima : Her kitsune name. It means Green Water Island, which is fitting because of her green, wavy hair. ; Princess Xezbeth : Her name and title in Barjassil in the First Age. Appearance In her disguise she's a beautiful elfess who wishes to look good even in servant's clothes. She has green hair, pale skin and alluringly red eyes. Her demonic form is very voluptuous, has barbed wings, sharp claws, a forked tail, and tough green skin. Being hit with Razravkar Dominus's spell in Illunii, however, has left her face scarred, and she has yet to fully recover from the spell's effects. She also has a kitsune form due to the bloodline she inherited from her kitsune mother although she hasn't accessed that power yet. Personality and Traits Acting quiet and polite, Jezebeth made sure not to anger anyone, especially her would-be masters, while in disguise. However, she also had a touch of arrogance or at the very least pride in her like every elf in Illunii. It was all an act, however, and the pride she showed as a servant was only a shadow of her true personality: a cunning succubus who derives joy from others' suffering and enjoys violence. She didn't hesitate to try and break people's minds by using everything they loved against them like she did with the Dresdens in Illunii, but she was willing to negotiate with "lesser beings" as long as it was under her terms. Her reunion with her mother Haruko has left her confused and angry, especially after she realized she wasn't a full demon but, thanks to her mother, she was in fact a halfbreed. She's yet to come to terms with these revelations of her past as the repressed memories rush to the surface. Powers and Abilities Despite her seemingly modest nature while posing as an elf, Jezebeth was actually quite intelligent, and skilled in black magic too. Her demon form is quite formidable and possesses hard skin which has survived many destructive spells. She's an eloquent speaker and a skilled manipulator but also hides a somewhat insecure emotional core underneath her tough exterior. Relationships Haruko Mizushima When Haruko and Jezebeth met during the latter's childhood, Jezebeth at first wasn't aware she was interacting with her own mother and reacted in a hostile manner to her presence. It took lots of time and effort on Haruko's part to explain to her daughter, whom she called Midori, the details about her past and how she was half-kitsune. Their relationship seemed to take a turn for the better eventually until their bonding was interrupted by forces sent by Malakhia, Jezebeth's father. For a long time Jezebeth assumed Haruko had perished until the truth (that she had in fact survived) was revealed to her in Malperdy millennia later. However, she sees as the hordes as her mother now and is trying to ignore Haruko's existence. Where their relationship goes from there remains to be seen. Malakhia d'Zarnagon Unbeknownst to Jezebeth while she was still the Crown Princess Xezbeth, the Oracle who tutored her in the court was in fact her father, a disguised demon named Malakhia, who, unlike her daughter, knew the truth about her parentage. Malakhia used her for his own ends, eventually sending her to be trained in the Demon Realm. Jezebeth, meanwhile, remained unaware of this family connection. Naga Jezebeth gave orders to Naga who followed her instructions diligently. She used Naga as her eyes and ears when Persephone wasn't available and made sure she'd influence Deidra Finian's actions towards the desired outcome in their little plot in Illunii. Naga was so loyal to Jezebeth that she was willing to sacrifice herself to finish off her mistress's enemies. Persephone Barca Jezebeth and Persephone bonded over the years they spent together, and became close friends, which was unusual considering the strict laws governing the life of nobles and commoners of Illunii. The truth behind the matter was that Jezebeth seduced Persephone and they became lovers. She eventually corrupted Persephone and turned her into her willing minion. Stheno Gallu Jezebeth and Stheno, or Sloth, go way back and are quite friendly with one another. Sloth tends to regard Jezebeth almost like a sister and often offers her advice, instructing her that violence isn't always the answer. Jezebeth, meanwhile, considers Sloth to be lazy and wasting her potential, so their views sometimes clash despite their respect for one another. Thanatos Barca Jezebeth worked under her employer, Lord Thanatos Barca, as a servant of the household. However, it was only an act because she was actually a mole of the Eastern Horde who used Thanatos for her own ends. See also *Haruko Mizushima *Malakhia d'Zarnagon *Naga *Persephone Barca *Stheno Gallu *Thanatos Barca Category:Barjassil Category:Characters Category:Eastern Horde Category:First Age Category:Mixed Ancestry Category:Third Age Category:Yamato